Bond
by aussiebabe290
Summary: A Charlie and Ruby twoshot, featuring flashbacks from their past. Read and review, please. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**Read and review, please.**

**aussiebabe290 xoxox**

* * *

Charlie Buckton stepped down the hallway quietly, as not to wake up her housemates. Leah Patterson was sleeping soundly, as was her nine year old son VJ. Charlie crept past VJ's partially open door, heading towards her sixteen year old daughter's room.

Ruby was sleeping peacefully, curled up in a ball, her brown blonde streaked hair spread over the pillows. Charlie smiled- she looked just as sweet and innocent as she had when she was a newborn. Charlie perched herself gingerly on the end of the bed, trying not to move- if Ruby woke up she'd scream loud enough to wake the dead and accuse her mother of not wanting her to make it to her seventeenth birthday.

Looking down at the envelope resting on her lap, Charlie thought back to the night she wrote the letter inside.

* * *

_Flashback- 1992_

_Fourteen year old Charlie Buckton looked down at the newborn, sleeping peacefully in the plastic hospital cot. All day, doctors and nurses had been shooting her evil looks, for getting pregnant so young- if only they knew the truth. _

_Reaching for a pen, she decided to tell her baby daughter the truth. She was going to find out one day- even if Charlie didn't want her to. _

Darling Ruby,

You're so small, lying there tonight, all wrapped in pink. So tiny- I can't believe that just this morning you were inside of me. All day, I've been getting looks from nurses, telling me I'm too young to have a baby. At fourteen, I'd agree. But when I first heard your heartbeat, I knew it was the right thing to do.

Baby girl, fourteen is too young to raise a baby. I'll do the best I can, with help from my parents- your grandparents. I'll finish school and then try to get a job in the police force- a dream that has been mine since I was a little girl. When I'm old enough, we'll move out of the house, into our own. Mother and daughter, facing anything together.

Ruby, when you're older I'll explain about your father and why you were born when I was so young. Maybe as the years go on it'll be easier- maybe they'll be harder. But I know, my little girl, that I will tell you.

You're so peaceful, a gorgeous little baby. And I want you to know, Ruby, that I love you, more than anything else in the world.

Infinite hugs and kisses,

Mum

_Charlie folded up the letter and placed it in the envelope, sealing it. _

_End flashback_

* * *

Charlie smiled from the doorway, still seeing the little girl who trusted her with absolutely everything. Her innocent baby face, her blue eyes shining into hers.

* * *

_Flashback- 1997_

"_Charlie?" a small voice said._

_Charlie, yawning, felt something touch her arm. "Mmm?" _

"_Charlie, are you awake?" the small voice said again. _

"_I'm 'wake, I'm 'wake". Charlie didn't open her eyes. "what's the matter, Rubes?"_

"_Daddy says Mummy's getting sick, Charlie". _

_That forced Charlie's eyes opened. She looked over at the little girl, and then, blinking furiously, the clock. She very nearly let out a yell, but when she saw the scared look on Ruby's face, she paused. "Ruby, Mummy is getting sick. But the doctors are going to make her better. That's why Daddy took her to the doctor's today". _

"_Is Mummy gonna die?" _

_That comment nearly made Charlie fall off the bed. Scooting over, she made room for the little girl to climb in next to her. _

"_Mummy's not gonna die, Rubes", she said, kissing her on the forehead. "I promise you now". _

"_But what if she does?" Ruby wanted to know. _

"_She won't". _

"_But what if she does?" _

"_She won't", Charlie repeated, more firmly. _

_Ruby sighed, trusting her older sister. Leaning her head on Charlie's shoulder, she closed her eyes, comforted by having the older girl there. _

_End flashback_

* * *

Charlie sighed, as Ruby let out a content sigh, rolling over. Ruby had always been comforted by Charlie- she loved her big sister (or mother, it depended which way you looked at it) more than anything. She had stuck by her when Charlie was with Joey, she had helped her through the depression she had fallen into when Joey left. Charlie loved Ruby like a sister, but a mother daughter bond was unbreakable.

* * *

_Flashback- 2002_

_Charlie braced herself for the comical chatter of her younger sister, as the primary school bell went. _

"_Hey Charlie!" Ruby said excitedly, flinging open the car door. "I thought Dad was going to pick me up today! Why are you here, Charlie?" _

_Without giving Charlie a chance to answer, she ploughed on. _

"_We did art today, Charlie, it was awesome but I accidentally got yellow paint on my dress. Do you think Mum will be able to get it out?" she indicated the splodge of yellow paint that had dried on the front of her school uniform. "We started a new book today, as well; it's really, really funny! It's called _The BFG_. Did you ever read _The BFG_, Charlie?" _

_Once again, the nine year old didn't give her sister a chance to answer. _

"_On the weekend can Lilly come over? Because Lilly's, like, my best friend and Daddy said she could. So can she?" _

"_Rubes!" Charlie almost shouted, a smile on her face. "Jeez, Rubes, calm yourself!" _

"_What?" Ruby asked innocently. _

"_You wanted to know why I'm here, right?"_

_Ruby nodded silently. _

"_Mum's sick, Rubes. We're going to the hospital". _

"_Oh". Ruby quietly uttered the single word. "do you think you'll be able to get the paint out of my uniform?" _

_Although Charlie was almost sick with worry about her mother, Ruby always made her laugh. _

"_I'll try, Rubes. I'll try". _

"_Thank you". _

"_And Rubes?" _

"_Yeah Charlie?" _

"_I have read_ The BFG_"._

_End flashback_

* * *

Charlie padded back to her bedroom, sliding under the covers. Her father's new wife Morag had brought the secret out a few weeks ago, and her relationship with Ruby had been rocky since. There was nothing more that she wanted than her baby sister back.

* * *

_Flashback- 2006_

_Ruby skidded into the office, her backpack hanging off her shoulders. "Where's Charlie?" she yelped. Her older sister had only ever pulled her out of school once in her lifetime, and it was because of their mother. _

_Charlie's eyes were red and her cheeks were tearstained- anyone could see she had been crying. "Rubes", she choked out. _

_Ruby felt her throat tighten. "Its Mum, isn't it?" _

_Charlie just nodded and her little sister dived into her arms, in tears. _

_End flashback_

* * *

Charlie had done everything she possibly could to comfort Ruby that day, trying not to show her real hurt. Her mother, Elsie, had supported her through the entire pregnancy, sticking by her daughter like no one else had. She had been sick for a long time but it was that day that she left Charlie. She was heartbroken- and so was Ruby.

After Elsie died, Charlie moved to Summer Bay, to escape the memories her old town had. Soon after, Ross brought Ruby to Charlie- he couldn't handle the teenager any longer. She was getting into trouble at school and with his Alzheimer's he couldn't deal with it.

Ruby had settled in well to Summer Bay High, which Charlie was pleased about. She had made a tonne of new friends, fitting into the small community almost immediately. Charlie couldn't have been happier.

It wasn't until Morag, Charlie's stepmother, brought the secret out into the open that Ruby started having some problems. Charlie didn't blame her the slightest.

* * *

Charlie jumped slightly- she had always been a light sleeper. The sound of the toilet flushing made her relax, as she slid back down onto the pillows. Whoever was awake padded back to their bedroom, and Charlie closed her eyes again.

Then whoever had gotten up to use the bathroom started walking around again- this time in the direction of Charlie's room. The figure slipped in the door, pulling back the covers.

Peeping out of one eye, Charlie saw it was Ruby.

The younger girl slid into the bed, pulling the blankets back. Wrapping her arms around the girl she always knew as her sister, Ruby whispered the sweetest words in the world.

"I love you Charlie".

A mother's bond with their child is one of the strongest things in the world. And that was what Charlie and Ruby had.

A bond.


	2. Chapter 2

**You said you wanted more, so here it is! This is the last chapter, though. I'm so exstatic I can barely type but here you go!**

**Rhyleigh xoxox**

* * *

_Dear Charlie, _

_I'm sorry. _

_I'm sorry for everything I've ever done. _

_I knew you had a rough few years when I was little- that's why you went to stay with Aunty Michelle. At least, that's what Mum told me. Your mum. _

_It must have been so hard for you. I have no comprehension on how hard it would have been. Fourteen- that's Annie's age. It would be like seeing Annie pregnant. _

_I hate Grant, for everything he did. _

_But then again, saying that, I wouldn't be here without him. _

_It's a scary thought, Charlie. _

_You were right, though. We did move away together, to Summer Bay. Mother and daughter, ready to face the world. We didn't see it like that, did we? We were moving to get away from the memories that haunted us back home. _

_Summer Bay is home now, Charlie. I love it here. _

_Now I know the real reason why you connected with Joey when she was in the Bay. I liked Joey, Charlie, a lot. I wish she stayed. _

_We've had some good times, haven't we, Charlie? Remember when I was five and we went to the beach? That was fun- you let me get, like, three ice creams, instead of limiting it to one like your parents used to do. "one each, Charlie and Ruby, no more". I loved that, Charlie, the way you used to disobey the rules for me. You still do, really. _

_I love you, Charlie. You've been the best big sis a girl could have for sixteen years, and I'm sure you'll be the best ever mum. _

_But, no offence, I don't think I could call you that. _

_'Mum', I mean. _

_Love you to the moon, all the way around it and back again, _

_Your baby girl,_

_Ruby xxx_

* * *

Charlie wiped away tears. Ruby had spent the night in her bed, her arms around the girl she believed, for sixteen years, to be her sister. She had snuck out a little before six, knowing that the older girl went for a run every morning.

Which she had done.

When she returned, there was a white envelope sitting in the middle of the bed.

She knew everything was going to be okay with the two of them- 'love you to the moon, all the way around it and back again' was something Charlie used to say to Ruby when she was a little girl, tucking her into bed at night. When she got older, the saying only came out occasionally. By the time they moved to Summer Bay, Charlie believed Ruby had forgotten about it completely.

But she hadn't.

It had taken time, but the bond between the mother and daughter had been restored.

Almost back to its original condition.


End file.
